More like the Toronto Gold Jays, as Kevin Kiermaier, Matt Chapman, and José Berríos win Gold Glove Awards
1 month ago
The Blue Jays defensive upgrades paid off in awards.
On Sunday evening, the Gold Glove Awards were announced, with three Blue Jays players winning it. Kevin Kiermaier won the Gold Glove for centre field, Matt Chapman won the Gold Glove for third base, and José Berríos won the Gold Glove for pitching.
There were also two Blue Jays who were listed as finalists but didn’t wind up winning. Alejandro Kirk was in the running for the American League Catcher Gold Glove and Daulton Varsho was nominated for left field’s Gold Glove. Meanwhile, former Blue Jay Gabriel Moreno won the Gold Glove for catcher in the National League.
Kevin Kiermaier had a strong year defensively for the Blue Jays, tallying up a 152 Defensive Runs Saved and 13 Outs Above Average in 981.1 innings in centre. His DRS is the highest since 2017, while the OAA he posted in 2023 was the highest since 2019. The 33-year-old will be a free agent in the upcoming days.
Matt Chapman won another Gold Glove, is anyone surprised? This past season, he had a 12 DRS and a 4 OAA in 1213.2 innings fielded at third base. This was his highest DRS since the 28 he posted in 2019. This is Chapman’s fourth Gold Glove while also being nominated for one after the 2022 season.
Defensive metrics for pitchers are hit or miss, but Berríos posted a 5 DRS in 189.2 innings. Zack Greinke had the highest DRS for an American League pitcher at 6, but failed to win what would have been his seventh Gold Glove of his long career. Berríos was also nominated for a Gold Glove in 2022, but lost to Shane Bieber.
We’re just a handful of days away from the beginning of free agency, so things are about to get really busy.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @Brennan_L_D. Look out for the article on why Daulton Varsho and Alejandro Kirk were robbed of Gold Gloves.
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